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Light and Fluffy Gluten Free Dinner Roll

Light and fluffy does not usually describe a gluten free roll, but these rolls are light and fluffy, and oh so good. And did I mention that they are gluten free. This gluten free dinner roll recipe is a must make!

When it comes to gluten free baking, I am picky. You see I was one of those people that baked a ton before going gluten free. I loved to bake anything from breads and rolls to cinnamon rolls and cookies. Baked goods that came from a can, a bag, or a box mix were rare in my kitchen.

I also grew up with a mom that baked a lot. Store bought bread and cookies were a treat for us growing up because homemade was the food we ate everyday. Yes, that is a bit backwards to today’s kitchen.

So, baking has been a big part of my life for years and I loved to work to get the best results.

Then gluten free baking entered the picture and my kitchen changed in more ways than I can count. Baking is high on the list of the biggest gluten free challenges that I have faced. And breads and rolls are highest on the list of those baking challenges.

Gluten free baking is where my being picky is very evident. You see, I don’t want just an okay gluten free dinner roll or bread, I want a really good one. I am not trying to copy the taste of a roll from a mix or can that I ate in my pre-gluten free days.

I am trying to recreate the baked goods I grew up on. The baked goods I loved to make and perfect. I know some things will never be the same, but when it comes to something like a gluten free bread or roll, I want to get as close to the real thing as I can.

The downside to trying to get as close to the real thing as I can, is that it takes a lot of time and a lot of disasters. I have been trying to get a really good gluten free dinner roll for three years. That is a long time, but when I tasted this roll, I knew I had it and I knew it was worth all the time and challenges it took.

This is a gluten free dinner roll that my whole family loved, including my son and husband who do not eat gluten free.

This roll is light and fluffy and oh so very good warm from the oven with butter spread on top. It is good reheated and served with honey for breakfast. And it works perfectly used as the bread part of a sandwich.

Now for a note on this recipe. I make this in my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough attachment. I have not made them by hand or in the bread machine, so I do not know how either of those ways would work.

The xanthan gum amount on this recipe is correct. The large amount of xanthan gum is what helps give this the correct bread like texture.

And do not double this recipe. I learned the hard way, that it does not turn out right when doubled.

Also some readers have had issues with this recipe not being light and fluffy. After receiving a lot of comments from readers that have had issues with this recipe, I have spent some time over the last few months testing and retesting it. With some help from readers that have also experimented with the recipe, I have found that it had more consistent results with increased water and decrease xanthan gum. I have made the recipe with those changes quite a few times now and they have turned out every time. The recipe below is updated with those changes. I also shared a few thoughts about different brands making a difference in gluten free baking and shared my thoughts in a post and I recommend reading it, just click here.

Light and Fluffy Gluten Free Dinner Roll

Ingredients

2 tablespoonsactive dry yeast

2 cupswarm water

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons xanthan gum

1 1/4 cupswhite rice flour

1 cupbrown rice flour

3/4 cup potato starch

1/3 cuptapioca starch

Cooking Directions

In the bowl of a mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and let sit for about 5 minutes.

Add egg and oil and mix well.

In another bowl combine remaining ingredients. Mix well to combine. Don’t skip this step you need the gums, rice flours and starches to be well combined. Slowly add to yeast mixture using the dough hook of an electric mixer.

Mix for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times. You do not knead this like a regular bread dough, but it does need mixed well and I have found about 5 minutes is a good time.

Scoop onto a greased cookie sheet. The dough is a wet dough, so I found that using a large ice cream scoop works best for this. This makes 12-15 rolls.

Cover rolls loosely with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

I would not waste the mix, they cost too much for that. 🙂 I would use it in a brownie maybe or as a thickner in recipes or even a coating for meat. For some things I should work find. I think for bread products it is usually best to stick pretty close to the recipe at least the first time you make it.

My 2 year old son has just been diagnosed with allergies to wheat, dairy, egg, and peanuts. I was wondering if this could be made without the egg, and what you would recommend replacing the egg with. I am new to this so any help would be great, my son misses his bread products.

You could try a ‘flax egg’ or making a chia seed gel in replacement for an egg. These things dont work well though with coconut flour or when the recipe calls for more than two eggs. It also depends on what the recipe needs the eggs for i.e binding, rising etc. I cannot have gluten, dairy and egg either. I have found that you can still make yummy bread without these you just need to do a little experiementing and subbing! Have fun 🙂

Why even do this? Three years to perfect a recipe for rolls? There is nothing in this recipe that even promotes good nutrition except (and it’s doubtful) maybe the brown rice flour. Oil? Sugar? Starch? Xanthan gum has no nutritional value. Neither does white rice flour. Potato starch comes from one of the most sprayed toxic crops there is. These will just feed the same inflammation grains with gluten cause.

Do we live to eat, or are we eating well to live well? I would recommend checking out Einkorn flour. An ancient grain and the only one I can have to which I do not react. It is a very viable alternative for those who are gluten intolerant and research is being done on tolerance in those with celiac disease.

Don’t equate gluten free with healthy – these rolls are not. Maybe give up baking so much and find another way to nurture your health?

I’m not trying to create a problem – just get people thinking. What are willing to give up for good health?

I don’t consider these healthy, I consider them a nice comfort foods type treat and perfect for holiday type baking that is coming up. This is not something I would fix for my family everyday, but it is a nice treat and something we used to really enjoy. Since going gluten free I do bake a lot less, but there are many foods that my family misses and I enjoy trying to recreate them. When it comes to health and eating, I believe moderation is best. Anything in large quantities can be bad and for my family I do not see an issue with an occasional treat. Good health is never a guarantee no matter what we eat.

As far as the Einkorn flour, it is not truly gluten free and is not something I would advise to those that are gluten free until much more research is done on it.

I was looking for something to add to Thanksgiving, that resembled dinner rolls, and this fit the bill. All the other veggies, are home grown from my garden. Free range turkey. We eat healthy all year round, and a little indulgence was surely in order! Thanks!

With all due respect….Asians have eaten white rice for centuries. Japanese have one of the longest life spans. I consider myself an American, but my grandmother, when she was alive, told me that my great-grandmother was a wife of a Chinese farmer. She ate white rice all her life and live to 104 years old. In fact, the newest shocking discovery on sugar will verify this….went viral on YouTube and was on 60 minutes, ABC News, etc…

Thanks for sharing that. I will have to watch those. You are right, Asians eat a lot of rice and do seem to lead healthier and longer lives than we do. It is not really the rice that is bad, it is what we eat with the rice and the amount and quantity of foods that we eat in general. Thanks!

To who ever you are. Your input is important, but, the recipe can be changed with higher fiber GF flours,
and other substitutes. I for one appreciate this recipe, as being a baker, and will try this recipe . The whole idea of proper nutrition and eating properly if good, providing that the earth that grows our food is not saturated with additives, and that rain is pure. and that our food is not GMO. People who are sensitive to wheat, require different
diets. Some GF people can only tolerate Rice Flour, and can not tolerate any form of Milk, Dairy, even if the lactose is removed.. Einkorn Flour is not a good substitute if one is celiac. The oil in this recipe can be organic if one decides to use it. There are many options. And yes, there seems to be allot of hype over GF, but studies have shown that individuals that stay away from wheat, barley, rye, non certified GF oats, they soon feel better, loose weight, have less pain within the body, just to name a few. Any way Thank you Lynn for sharing this recipe and your talent.

It’s easer to sick to a diet if you like what you can eat. The thing I miss the most is real bread. If this bread recipe is as good as I think it is then my life will have a little sunshine again. Try going to a supermarket and know that 90% of what’s there you can’t have. Udis French Dinner rolls are the best I have come across to date, but they are so expesive. My local supermarket has a great seection of GF foods. I will be trying this recipe tomorrow morning and maybe I can have hot rolls and butter for Sunday breakfast again. Yippie. Thankyou Lynn

For those of you having trouble getting the dough to rise properly in a Gluten free bread recipe. Ive discovered 1/2 tsp Ascorbic Acid + 1 tsp of Apple Pectin does wonders. The dough needs a good acid environment.

Of course. Moderation allows us to eat things that are bad for us -“everything in moderation” they say. Wouldn’t include GMOs in that.

My point was that “gluten free” seems to have become equated with healthy today. Most of the time, if it is a baked good, it is not healthy, unless you use something like almond flour or coconut flour.

Anyway, you provide a good service and many interesting recipes and this was not an attack on you..

No, Einkorn is not gluten free. But many people who are gluten intolerant can eat this grain and I am one of them. This makes one wonder if the hybridization of our grains today is what has caused reactions to the gluten. I highly recommend trying it for those who have gluten intolerance. I do NOT recommend it for celiacs yet, as more testing needs to be done – as my post stated.

The flavour is amazing and it is highly nutritious. I am very excited about it!

They looks so delicious Lynn! I love bread and can’t eat it anymore. So, I spent a year’s time trying to perfect bread recipes…but have not be successful. I find that the combination of yeast and rice flours emit a terrible odor/taste after the bread is baked. So, I gave up on bread. What you wrote makes me want to try baking bread again.

Thanks! I agree the gluten free flours do often give off a funny taste and/or texture and that is often part of the problem when trying to get the recipe just right for me. And we all have different likes and dislikes, some really have a problem getting past the taste of rice flours. For me it is the bean flours that leave an odd taste and smell. But don’t necessarily give up, you might find that setting it aside for awhile helps. For something like these rolls, I would try them a few times and then give up for awhile and then get an idea that I thought might work and I would go back and try again, and eventually I got one I was happy with.

Julie, I finally figured out it was the tapioca flour/starch smell and taste my family couldn’t stand, especially in baked goods with yeast. You might be able to narrow down what brand or flour/starch exactly you find offensive and then substitute a different grain or brand for it. Just a thought. And don’t taste it warm, typically the “off” flavor from gf goods seems to go away when it cools. Just my 2 cents 🙂

I made these today and they are Amazing! I’ve searched for a roll recipe for my Celiac son for the holidays so he doesn’t steal the gluten-filled goodies there. These are perfect! I think I might sub olive oil and add a little rosemary for a different flavor for Thanksgiving. Thank you so much!

Hi Lynne. I made these tonight and I LOVED the flavor. HOWEVER….I must’ve done something wrong because mine didn’t rise quite right and more on the heavy side. I am wondering if altitude would make a difference? I’m in Washington State. Any thoughts. The flavor was excellent. I also didn’t realize these took so long to rise and so I did it the way I usually do…warm up my oven, turn it off, stick them in and let them rise…about 40 minutes (usually it cuts my rising time in half because it’s warmer than my house would ever get). Maybe I can’t do this with these?

Any thoughts. I’m going to try them again because they were very good. Thank you for trying to find a recipe that would work. I served them with soup tonight.

I have not used that warming method for these rolls, but I do know that sometimes breads take longer to rise than others. My guess would be that your rolls did not rise long enough. So, if you liked the taste and flavor of these I would say let them rise longer next time. The other thing that could have been wrong with them is the yeast. Was it yeast that you had used recently so that you knew it was good? I have had that be the issue in the past with other bread type recipes, so that is possible also. I hope that helps.

The yeast was good…I used it last week to make bread. so maybe the rising was the issue. It was as “wet” as I was thinking it would be. I will certainly try them again because like I said it was so yummy.

First, now I feel bad because I did not pay attention to who left the comment. I read your site, so I know you know how to bake and use yeast. 🙂 Yes, this is a wetter dough since it is gluten free and although these are light and fluffy for gluten free, the texture is still a bit different than a regular roll. I would say let them rise a little longer next time and see if that helps. I am glad you enjoyed the taste. With gluten free taste can often be the issue, so I like hearing that you enjoyed them. 🙂

My daughter really misses soft white bread (not something we ever had much of before going gluten free, but a treat she enjoyed at restaurants and on holidays). I had hoped to give these a trial run before the Thanksgiving holiday, halving the recipe since I don’t have a stand mixer. Even when I had thought I had time to do it, I realized I was out of potato starch and it was much to late to order any for holiday baking. I’ll let you know how my method (with the electric hand mixer) and any adaptations turn out. Salmon Soup and rolls are on the menu for tomorrow. My daughter will love having sandwiches during the week.

I hope they turn out for you and that she enjoys them. I think as long as you mix these really well, you will probably be fine. You can’t really knead gluten free dough, so mixing well is important. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Wow, Okay! Glad I asked! Thanks! I figured someone would have caught that if it really was a typo, but I have just never used that much yeast before. But alas, I am not a very experienced baker. I’m excited to try these! Oh and by the way, I do NOT believe gluten free necessarily has to mean healthy, and I solute you for taking the time to perfect these and share with us regardless of the nutritional value! Sometimes you just want some warm, delicious, maybe even bad-for-you baked goods! Thanks again and have a great holiday!

Your recipe for these rolls is raising in my kitchen right now. I live at sea level, which does affect the flours used in gluten free baking. I ended up with a bowl of dry hunks when made exactly your way. Always looking for solutions, I added warm water a tablespoon at a time until the mixture looked wet enough to scoop.

I was so excited to find this recipe for my family’s Thanksgiving. I gave it a shakedown try at a pre-Thanksgiving and thought that I killed the yeast since they remained hard and not-fluffy and way too sweet. I ate them anyhow, along with another GF guest. So, this time I was scientific and lo and behold, no rise, even though I got all fresh ingredients and proofed the yeast at exactly the right temp. These are well=intentioned duds. Sorry.

I am sorry the rolls did not work for you. I have made them quite a few times now and my family enjoys them. They are heavier than a regular roll, but they are the lightest gluten free roll I have made. I am sorry that you were disappointed in them.

I think I did something wrong – when they were done mixing the dough didn’t look wet at all – actually it looked very much like a ‘regular’ bread dough would. I scooped the rolls into a muffin pan (maybe that was part of the problem) and let them rise for 1.5 hours. They didn’t rise that much, I used good yeast (it proofed like it should after 5 minutes), so I let them sit for another 20 minutes. They didn’t rise anymore so I baked them. They are dense and heavy – the flavour is very good, but they are dense like all the other GF breads I have tried. I have no idea what I did wrong – I kept looking at the recipe thinking I missed a wet ingredient, since after mixing it wasn’t wet at all …. anybody have an idea what I did wrong? Fortunately these rolls are just for me- I wouldn’t want to serve them to anyone else – and I don’t mind how dense they are. They taste good and smell great, but I don’t know what I did wrong.

I am sorry that you had trouble with the rolls. I have made these about 10 times now and they have turned out fine for me. They are heavier than a regular rolls, but have always been lighter and fluffier than any other gluten free roll I have tried. I am so sorry they did not work for you.

Andrea,
I had the same experience as you! I am a good baker, but somewhat new to GF baking. We live pretty much at sea level and I wondered if that has anything to do with it. I also thought the yeast was too high, but I followed the recipe anyway. My rolls did not rise and were hard little balls, but they smelled and tasted good! My family ate them yesterday and for breakfast this morning. (I know, not healthy but at least they enjoyed)

Lynn, I was happy I made them because my family did not feel cheated when it came to Thanksgiving dinner rolls.

I agree. I made this, following the recipe to the letter, and did NOT get a wet dough. The dough was dry and crumbly, like pie crust before you add the extra water to make the dough come together. Ideas?

I made these for our Thanksgiving dinner. I don’t know what I did wrong, but the dough was not wet at all, even after adding more water. I rolled it into balls and baked anyway (after the rising time of course). They had a funny flavor. I must have added too much of one of the starches. I think I will try this again and see if I get any different results. I haven’t had rolls in over 2 years, so I still ate them. Slathered with Cinnamon honey butter, I couldn’t taste the funny taste, lol. 🙂 I was actually thinking my dough was gonna be too wet because I live in FL. Oh well, I’ll try again and see what happens. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂

I have made these quite a few times now and mine have turned out fine. I have had several other comments saying theirs were heavy and not light at all. Were yours heavy or just odd tasting? Mine have always been heavier than a regular roll, but light from a gluten free roll. Now I am wondering if different brands of flours/starches might make a difference. I can’t figure out why there has been just a wide range of differences on these. I am glad you enjoyed them with cinnamon honey butter though. That sounds good. 🙂

OK, Lynn, here goes! I, too, have made these twice but continue to find the texture almost like a regular dough. Far far FAR from being wet…which produces a roll that is far too heavy. SO, it WOULD be a wonderful idea for those of us who WILL be working on this recipe (UNTIL THE DARN THING WORKS!) if you would let us know which brands of ingredients you’re using. MAYBE we can recreate your wonderful results if we know exactly what you’re doing! I, for one, want VERY MUCH to recreate your success in MY kitchen! The aroma is intoxicating and the flavor is so so perfect! All I need to nail down is that texture! I held back some of the white rice flour and it helped a little. I’m going to hold back a bit of potato starch next time, too. If all else fails, I’ll throw in a 2nd egg…which I really don’t want to do…but I NEED to make this work so my daughter can whip up a batch when she’s ready to cheat! Thanks!

I think brands is part of the issue and have a post planned this week dealing with it. I used a different brand of something because I ran out of what I had used before and got totally different results for this recipe, so I am going to address this. Oh the fun of gluten free baking and cooking…….I feel bad for those that have had it not turn out.

I was wondering about the amount of gum in the roll recipe. 2 !/2 tablespoons seems a lot. I’ll keep checking for an answer. The only successful bread I have baked is one from your site–Gluten free, egg free, dairy free. I take it out of the Breadman machine, put it in a greased bowl and raise it in the microwave (it doubles) and then bake it in the regular oven at 375 or 400 degrees till internal temperature is 205 degrees or higher. I bake by weight rather than cup measures and have found huge differences in weights given in lists of different flours. I finally averaged all the weights given and go with that and so far it is working out. It would be great if the recipes had weights as well as volume. This food intolerance things has struck me just this last year or so ( I am over 80) and being able to look up things on the computer has been a lifesaver. I find nearly every question I have has been asked before and there is an answer out there somewhere! Thank you for all your great work on this website.

I have a food scale, but really have not used it that much. I really should try weighing my flours to see if I get better results. You are not the only one that has suggested that. And wow can I just say good for you tackling all this at 80! It is a whole new world of baking and cooking and can be quite challenging. I agree about the internet, I can’t imagine food allergies without it.

Did you ever work this recipe out by weight? I know that it can make a substantial difference in the end result. Really hoping to try a recipe that EVERYONE loves, and that isn’t just tolerated by the Celiac (me 😉) becUse I have no other choice. Hoping to give these a try today. 😊

These look like a fun recipe to make with kids!
In regards to this recipe not working doubled – it’s likely because you’re measuring your ingredients by volume and not by weight. Sadly, it’s nearly impossible to get consistent results that way, especially with persnickety gluten-free baking!
Thank you for the recipe!

Woah! 2 1/2 TABLESPOONS of Xanthan Gum is waayyyyyyy too much to use in any baking. That will produce a heavy loaf. Since the gum attracts and holds water, that’s why so many complain of a dry (and therefore the resulting heavy) dough/roll. You want to cut back on that amount to about 1 tsp (at the most). Also, temperature proofing is VERY important. Let me say I baked my FIRST fluffy , airy loaf of GF bread this past week. I was looking to see if I could do it as rolls and see if I could find a simple recipe like I used for my bread. I can’t stand to use much gum (I don’t like texture), eggs or bean flours EVER. I think it changes the taste/density of the final product. Anyway, the loaf I made was ultra-simple. I should add that I have baked for years, but artisan bread for the last 10 years especially, including making my own levain (French yeast). Since becoming Gluten Intolerant last summer, I have baked at least 20 loaves of bread…all disappointing.

This recipe worked for me. I proofed it in a warm (I don’t know termperature. I had finished other baking and turned off the oven for a while, so it wouldn’t kill the yeast) oven. Here is HOW I did it. I hope I can replicate the results!

Okay. Here where it gets iffy. I apologize: I am one of those bakers who bakes by sight/touch. I gave up measuring a long time ago b/c I don’t need to measure. And baking is an exact science. Gluten-free, even more so. Even so, I always start with an amount of water in a bowl which I guess to be around 2 cups. I add flour (GF now) to make the right consistency. And I never use a mixer to make GF bread ever, let in rise once in the pan, then bake. Anyway here goes by best attempt to share:

Come back to it. Sprinkle in your sugar or natural sweetener AND your cooked potato or potato flakes. Whisk or stir.

Add flour , combined with your xanthan gum, to make a very wet dough. I’m sorry I can’t tell you how much is in the box…12 ounces of flour box. Add all of that. Now add about 1/3 volume (or 4 oz) of another box. Now, sprinkle LIGHTLY with cornstarch and work it with your hands. It will be WET and not like a non-GF dough, but no that “thick cake batter” GF dough you are told to make with eggs (yuck. Sorry) in a mixer. Sorry, that’s not bread to me. Or, my dreams of what bread SHOULD be!

Sprinkle on more cornstarch just so dough doesn’t stick. Pour into a large glass baking pan. Spray or brush olive oil over top of loaf. Cover with towel. Proof in a WARM (not too hot) oven about 45-min. to 1 hour til it rises to the top of the pan (look at all those lovely air pockets!).

Now bake at 400 for about 45 minutes. I added an extra 10-15 minutes. You don’t want that dreadful soggy center you get w/ so many GF loafs. Will be only LIGHT BROWN and will begin to actually pull away from sides.

Remove to cooking rack if loose, allow to cool completely before slicing. May freeze slices after slicing. Smells like delicious sourdough bread. I don’t know how, but it does. It has lovely big air pockets and a hard crusty outside but tender inside. And, it doesn’t fall apart at all or crumble like other GF loaves I’ve made (that’s the xanthan gum, thank you).

( I wish I could attach a pic of my light, airy loaf. I have one on Facebook. I started a blog, but didn’t have time to keep up with it w/ all my cooking, hobbies and homeschooling the kids. I am so impressed by authors/bakers like you who take the time to do these lovely recipes and photos)

Hope this recipe helps, and hope the reduction of the xanthan gum helps others, too

Thank you for taking the time to leave that. I have used potato in recipes for bread before going gluten free, but have not tried it since I was gluten free. I think you just inspired me to pull out some of my old yeast dough recipes that contained potato. I know my grandmother used to make them that way all the time. I think the gum may be part of the problem in this recipe, but I think brands do also. I have made it a few more times and it turns out about half the time, so I am still working on it. And I agree I do not like the bean flours. I don’t like the texture or taste they give gluten free things. Thanks again for leaving your recipe.

I just wanted to thank you for this recipe!!! I have been attempting to bake something that even slightly resembles a gluten-full bread or roll and have failed miserably time and time again for the past five years. Not that the stuff isn’t edible, because it is (most times), but “fluffy” is definitely NOT a word to be used with “gluten free”….until now! These rolls taste AMAZING and they are the fluffiest, least grainy gluten free baked good I’ve ever had!!! These will definitely be added to our weekly baked good list!

I am wanting to attempt this recipe. But did see that the 2 1/2 TABLESPOONS of xanthan??? Have seen the question asked by a couple others, but there was really no answer posted. Could that be a typo, meaning TEASPOONS instead?

I just made this recipe and used ONE tablespoon of xanthan. Substituted quinoa flour for the white rice flour. Used brown sugar instead of white. And it turned out beautifully. I think the 2 1/2 TABLESPOONS of xanthan would be the reason why everyone seems to have a problem with the batter being too thick.
(Lynn, your own website: https://www.lynnskitchenadventures.com/2010/08/xanthan-gum.html recommends 1 to 1-½ tsp. per cup of flour for yeast breads.)

Hi Lynn
I am the lady who left a message on your blog on July 26 , 2013.
Just to let you know I tried this recipe two ways One with less 1 TB xanthan gum, with soya milk (instead of water) plus 1/3 cup , and organic oil. Nice texture, great flavor, almost like the real bread texture :). Then I tried it with the some of the ratio as above, but added 1/4 cup of fresh sweet potato (yams) (cooked, mashed, drained) to the recipe, added 4 TB of honey instead of the sugar,substituted the white rice flour measurement as – with 3/4 cup white rice flour and a mixture of chick pea, and amaranth flour * measured out to your ratio of 1 1/4 cup total. and extra liquid, as chick pea, and amaranth flours take up more liquid,I would love to send you a picture, of both, this one I am going to make into bread. I really like sweet potato, and the texture was still light fluffy, and great flavor.
I will let you know if it turns out,
Marg
,

I have attempted to make these rolls four times. The first two times I could have used them as hockey pucks. The second two times I increased the water to 2 cups. While it has improved them, they are a touch soggy. Why are they not coming out light and fluffy?

These rolls were amazing!! Definitely planning to make them again. Not sure what I did wrong but tmy dough was very thick. However they cooked perfectly and tasted amazing! Thanks for the great recipe!

Ok, so I obviously need some help. I attempted to make the dinner rolls (and by attempted I mean failed miserably!) I followed the directions exactly as they were written. When I got to the end of the 5 minutes of mixing I knew something was wrong because my dough was not at all wet. I went ahead and scooped the dough onto my cookie sheet, covered it and waited 1 and 1/2 hours and nothing happened. Not a thing – they did not rise in the slightest. Decided to cook them anyway to see what happened and again – nothing! The rolls did not look any different after 10 minutes in the oven than they did when I scooped them onto the cookie sheet. I ended up throwing the whole batch in the garbage in frustration because they did not resemble the rolls in the picture in any way.

So, any hints, clues or thoughts on what I may have done wrong? I was using all brand new bags of flour, xanthum gum – everything. Every ingredient came from a package that I opened to make these rolls (another reason for my frustration as these ingredients are not inexpensive). The yeast did react well with the water and sugar so I was very surprised that the bread didn’t rise at all.

When I was baking with wheat I never had any trouble with any recipes. Since having to wheat free I have not had many recipes work out at all. Obviously I am missing something!

You might also find it helpful to read through the comments on this post. Just know you are not the only one. I have made this recipe a few more times and am trying to figure out what is causing the issues everyone is having. And again I am sorry.

When I proof my rolls, I put them in a cold oven with the light on. I pour a quart or so of boiling water into a 9×13 pan in the bottom of the oven. It seems to keep it just the right regulated temperature and moisture. They have turned out perfect every time. I’ve even moved cross-country so I’ve tried it in Florida as well as Washington. This is my go-to roll recipe for the holidays.

These dinner rolls were amazing! I have tried many gluten free dinner roll recipes, and they are always turn out like hockey pucks. These however really are light and fluffy. I plan on using all the recipes on this website. They are very straight forward and extremely delicious. Thank you!!!!!!

Do you know if these freeze well after baking? And if you just thaw them and re heat after? I am thinking about making these for thanksgiving, but I would like to make them ahead since I am starting a new job on Thursday. I am used to staying at home with the kids and having all the time I need for this type of stuff and pretty much wont have time now lol. Thanks! 🙂

I have never frozen these, but I think they should work fine. Also, be sure to read through the comments and my update on this recipe. There is a link in the post to some updated thoughts. Some readers had some trouble with this recipe, so I wanted to be sure you read the comments first.

Is there any chance that there is a typo in the recipe. I have tried making these twice now and the dough wasn’t wet at all either time. As a matter of fact I was really surprised because I’m used to GF dough being a wet dough that you can’t really knead in the normal manner. This dough is much more like a “normal” bread dough. I could knead this and roll it out and shape it like a normal dough recipe. Also it did not rise at all. My yeast is fine, I’ve used it in several other things without an issue.

On a brighter note, once I saw that the dough was the same as my first try instead of trying to make rolls again I rolled part of it into breadsticks and part of it into a pizza crust. They both turned out fabulous, super yummy!

I just made these rolls – they were the 3rd recipe that I tried (I was delegated to do the rolls for a mixed meal on Thanksgiving).

These were the charm; they taste so good. But I wish I had read the comments before making them.

I used about half the yeast and gum because I couldn’t believe the stated measures (sorry). I did use about a tablespoon of Expandex to sub for a tablespoon of the tapioca flour. Then when I saw how stiff the batter was I added more water a bit at a time till it looked wet and a bit sticky like other bread batters I have made.

Unbelivablely good. I think for the big day I will up the yeast a tad to get a bit more lift but right now I have rolls, butter and jam calling me.

I have heard about expandex, but never used it. What are your thoughts on it? I am guessing since you used it, you think it helps, but I would love to hear what you think over all of it. And I am glad you enjoyed the recipe.

I don’t use Expandex as a matter of course in baking. For one thing it is extremely expensive and I could only find it on-line. I bought it after reading a baking blog called ‘Vic and Hallie’s GF baking” (or something like that). But having purchased it about 3 1/2 years ago I thought I should use it. I never did the comparison baking that Vic and Hallie did but it did seem to help hold the dough together.

According to the back of the package it is supposed to improve taste, texture and appearance; extend shelf life; and reduce the amount of gum needed. Sort-of exchanging one expensive ingredient for another. However, the rolls made last night tasted great this morning and now at almost 4 in the afternoon still taste very good.

The description from the Amazon site is as follows — Unique expansion properties for the creation of structures and textures similar to wheat counterparts. Excellent water binding and freeze-thaw properties, clean flavor, Non-GMO, enhances the appearance, texture and flavor of bakery products and more! Expandex® helps make gluten-free food taste more like wheat-based food, so you don’t have to sacrifice taste by going gluten-free. Benefits include: High expansion Low to no flavor impact Stable structure without gums.

I would have to try again without to be able to give a comparison but would be a bit reluctant as them were so good as made.

Thanks. I need to give it a try. It is the extended shelf life of gf foods that I think would be great. Gf baked goods just don’t seem to last as long and if it helped that would so nice. I think I will have to get some soon to try. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

If you could email me your address, I could send you a half cup or so to play with. Please be aware that It is past it’s ‘best by’ date which was in 2011. So that might not be a fair test but the offer stands.

OMG!!!! I almost cried when I tasted these… seriously. I’ve been craving fresh hot moist rolls for the last 3 years and these turned out so well!! Thank you!!! I used Bob’s Red Mill flours and followed the directions 100% except I find that getting the water up to 125 degrees works better for the yeast.

If this helps anyone, I find I get my most consistent rise for gluten free bread when I form it, put it in a cold oven, and pour boiling water in a 9×13 pan in the bottom of the oven. I close the door and let it rise. It keeps a regulated temp and lots of moisture in there to help the flours hydrate. When I use this method, I don’t have problems getting my gf bread to rise. I hope it works for some of you, too!

I just want to say that I made these for my family at Thanksgiving and everyone loved them! I am the only person with allergies in my family and I really love showing them that gluten-free is tasty! I do have a question though, the rolls were fantastic when I made them the day of Thanksgiving, after the meal they were covered with aluminum foil in a glass bowl and put in the refrigerator. The next day they were very dry and stale tasting. Any ideas on how to get them to last longer than one day? I loved them so much I’m baking them again today! They are already on the counter rising.

Homemade gluten free yeast doughs don’t last very long. I find the same thing on leftover ones. We heat them up and that seems to help. My kids heat them up and then spread butter or whatever on them. I prefer to take a leftover one and spread some butter on it then heat it up because I think the butter soaks in and helps the texture. So you might try warming up the leftovers and see if that helps. And I am so glad that you enjoyed the rolls for Thanksgiving. I love sharing gluten free recipes that are easy to make and that is food the whole family can enjoy!

Freeze leftovers immediately, well wrapped, even if it will be used the next day. I freeze bread in small portions wrapped with cling wrap and then in a plastic zip bag. Leave out to thaw a short time, and it will be fresh. Sometimes I wrap frozen bread in foil and stick in hot oven 10 minutes or so, and they are fresh as if they just got baked. I have not tried it with these, but it usually works with all my regular and GF bread.

So what were the successful brands of flour etc that you used in the recipes?
If it is cool and dry in your house, you can create a proofing oven by turning your oven barely on. You will also want to put a pan of boiling water on the lowest rack to make the air in the oven moist. I am considering going gluten-free, so these are the pointers I give for my regular dinner rolls.

It isn’t so much the rising on gf, it is that the flours just don’t work the same so they are often just heavy no matter how long you let them rise. As for gf flours I like the Bob’s Red Mill brand the best.

Well what can I say. Made these the other day and they were lovely , but thought I’d give it a go but making a loaf of bread with this recipe, I did just use an all purpose plain flour as over here in the uk my local supermarket doesn’t stock the individual flours, but WOW!!!!!! It is just like bread!!!!! I put it in a high oven for around 10-12 mins then turned the oven down to gas mark 4 and made a tin foil tent to put over it to prevent burning. I am over the moon and so happy that I’ve finally found the closest to bread yet xxx

I am so glad you enjoyed this. I have used it as bread and pizza crust and both work great. I need to share those versions with my readers because I agree we love this dough too. Thanks for letting me know how much you enjoyed it.

I finally got around to making these for dinner this evening. Oh my! They are amazing! I couldn’t believe a gluten free roll could be soft! But they are! Thanks so much for this recipe! I’m thankful I didn’t read all these reviews before I made them or I might not have tried…lol. I followed the recipe exactly, using Bob’s Red Mill flours, except for the brown rice flour which is a sprouted flour I buy through the Azure standard coop I participate in. When I started mixing, I actually thought the dough was going to be way too wet, but as I mixed in the xanthan gum and kept mixing, the dough thickened to a nice, soft dough that was perfect for scooping onto my cookie sheet.

I will be making these again…and again…and again! I’ll have to try making bread from this recipe, too. Eating a sandwich would be a real treat!

So yummy. I didn’t have all the different flours so I just used bobs red mill all purpose gluten free flour, 3 1/3 cups and followed the rest of the recipe and they are AMAZING! Thank you. My family loves them.

I just have to tell you what a fan my family and I are of your recipes, and to tell you that this makes great bread recipe also! Instead of making rolls I put it in two 10 inch loaf pans (rises a lot). Baked at 400 till the inside if the bread hit 200 degrees. ( I put a baking timer in the loaf “before baking” and after I take it out slowly and don’t touch it or it will sink. I have tried multiple recipes. This is the best ! So good thank you!!!

Thank you for letting me know. I am glad you enjoyed it. I need to do a follow up post on this dough because you are right it works great for bread and other things. I have been using it for pizza crust and it works great for that was well.

OMGOSH!!! Thank YOU!!! I made these last night for the family and it was a BIG hit! I have had a craving for fluffy bread for the past year since going gluten free from intolerance, and these are Amazing! I didn’t think it was possible to have a Light and Fluffy, bread recipe! I actually gave up looking for a while, until I tried looking again yesterday. I am so glad I came across your recipe. I have tried countless failed recipes that promised to be light and fluffy, and always end up being dense, heavy, and crumbly. Your recipe is by far the best I have ever tried, even from the grocery store. My year long search is over! LOL! I shared this page with all my other Gluten Free Newbies, and they are excited to try this as well. I am looking forward to trying your other recipes here on your site. P.S. Even my Husband (who is not gluten Free) loved this bread and he is picky when it comes to Gluten Free Bread! Thanks Lynn!

I happened upon this site and saw this GF roll recipe a few days ago and decided to try it. I just made them (I didn’t have the potato flour so I used cornstarch instead) and they are AMAZING!!!!Truly light and fluffy! After so many failed attempts at GF breads and rolls I finally have a go to bread recipe. Thank you Thank you Thank you! Now I just have about 20 of your other GF recipes to try.

OMG!! Thank you so much for this recipe. All I’ve been making door stops for the last few month just trying all the different recipes I can and I have to say I was sceptical about theses rolls having made so many duds from other recipes that promised so much. But they are all you said they would be, my son is over the moon . Thank you

I made this recipe using Trader Joe’s GF all purpose flour mix. The yeast proofed fine, the dough rose fine, but the consistency was like cake batter. Buns did not form. The batter poured into the cake pan like pancake batter. After rising, I refrigerated the dough overnight, then let it rest for two hours at room temperature. It didn’t rise again. I baked the cake formed bread. It was delicious! I loved it. However, the next day the remains tasted dry and yeasty, despite being stored in a zip lock bag. I am sorry I made a double batch.

Thank you so very much!!! I was just put on a gluten free diet by my dr. This has been the hardest change for me. When I found your roll recipie, I got very excited. I have not tried it yet but I cannot wait to! Any advice and tips are greatly appreciated for being gluten free. Thank you!!!

I hope you enjoy it! Gluten free can be challenging, especially at first, but it does get easier. Especially if you start to feel better. Once you feel better it makes it all worth it. This year I am doing a weekly gluten free dinners series that you might find helpful. Each week I am sharing a gluten free dinner that is easy and family friendly.

Is it possible to get a picture of what the dough looks like? I’m learning how to cook grain free (yes, grain) and have tried your recipe a few times substiting flours but my dough always comes out way to running to hold shape. They’ve turned out delicious and fluffy (first grain free baking that doesn’t have the consistency of a rock) but flat, which is ok for garlic bread but I’m want something I can eat with a burger!

Thanks Lynn. I don’t use xanthum gum since I’ve used buckwheat and I read that buckwheat has a stick of its own. The first time I used flaxseed, but it seems to be unnecessary as the dough does hold nicely after being cooked. I also reduced the water to 1 1/2 cups and tried using a room temperature egg.

….was anxious to try these for our possible future daughter in law. mine look NOTHING like yours.
they are flattish and not at all same color. but tomorrow I’ll know how they match up to Jenniver. I am simply unfortunately not very hopeful. I’d love it if she likes them perhaps butter willl lend a hand, lots of butter..

Worked really well first time thanks. No previous baking experience and no particular ingredients chosen just followed your recipe.
The rolls were light and fluffy. They had a slight taste to them (not sure what) but 100x better than normal gluten free baked goods. And they became a little chewy when they had cooled down.
Thanks again. Delicious and such a nice treat for those forced into gluten free.

Yes using all white rice flour will work fine in this. It is interesting that you could not find the brown. Recently I needed the white and went to three stores and only found the brown and no white rice flour. I had never had trouble finding the white rice flour before. I would think stores would carry both, but I guess not.

I made the dinner rolls! They were yummie! I had a lot of doubts in the beginning because some of the ingredients were new to me, but when I started mixing it all together I was amazed by the flexible airy dough. Great!

My biggest doubt was the tapioca. I had bought tapioca balls and figured I had to boil them for 20 minutes before using them? Then they became soft and transparent but they remained their shape all the way till the end. So I still saw the balls in the end product. Is there anything that I should have done different here? Regarding the tapioca?

When I baked the rolls they were still totally wet after 10 minutes but brown at the top. I put silver foil on top of them and ended up baking them for another 40! minutes before they were done.
But… end good all good, they are yummieeee.

P.s. I am from the Netherlands, so forgive me if my English is not correct. And also for the same reason I have no hope on using the same brands as you do. Got to go with what we have here.

Hi! I just made these rolls and the dough was really more like batter and they spread out quite a bit but I went ahead and let them rise and baked them. They did rise but looked kinda like round sandwich bread. When baked they rose more but still were not at all what I would call rolls. I was very surprised by this since most of the issues people have had was that they were too thick! The texture was pretty good, the flavor was ok but mine needed a bit more salt. I put one of them in a ramekin to see if maybe next time I should put them in that and that one turned out the best but it still wasn’t round on top like a roll.

Excellent. This actually made 21 large rolls. I cooked them for 20 minutes and they were perfect, light through-and-through. (Less than that, they were simply not done inside.) I live near Houston, so sea-level probably made some difference.

I have found the perfect shape to make amazing crusty garlic bread with this recipe!! I shaped the dough into two long rectangles kind of like ciabatta bread. Then when cooked I cool and slice/peel the loaf in half and broil the exposed inside! Butter and season!! I wish I could upload my photo!! Great recipe.

I’ve been trying to make good gf bread (that doesn’t come already mixed) for several years now. As a pastry chef, it was tough enough to be diagnosed as celiac but even worse on me to not be able to bake what I was taught to bake. This is the first successful recipe I’ve tried and I’m so excited to find it in time for thanksgiving. Thanks so much!

WOW! I LOVED these rolls! They are fairly similar in procedure to my mother-in-law’s amazing regular white flour dinner rolls. I choose to eat GF and have recently been working with real recipes instead of boxed mixes and store bought items so that I could also go organic with my sourcing. These were CRAZY easy to make! I got 14 out of my batch – 7 in each of my 2 glass pie plates. They did take a while longer to bake, but the texture, oh the texture! Super wonderful! Hubby said he thinks it would be a great pizza crust and I think next time I will turn half the batch into cinnamon rolls! Oh, the possibilities! Thank you for a wonderful Christmas dinner roll!

I am so glad that you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for letting me know. And yes this dough works great for many things. I use it for gluten free bread and have shared that recipe on my site. I have also used it for gluten free monkey bread. I adjusted it some for pizza crust and need to share that version. I changed up the flour slightly for the pizza version. But yes this basic dough is my favorite gf dough to work with. I am so glad you enjoyed it.

It would be nice to see some “during” photos — how the dough looks once everything is mixed together, how you placed them on the cookie sheet — where they touching? how far spaced apart?, what they looked like after their rising time, etc. I am probably not the only one who would greatly appreciate the guidance of seeing how things look throughout the process, not almost four identical photos of the finished product. With that being said, I do appreciate your recipes as they have been a huge help in our gf transition.

My gluten-free sister is coming to visit next week and so I set out to make some dinner rolls ahead of time and then freeze them. I tried this recipe twice, once for my husband and I as an experiment, and a second time with hopes of doing better. Both times I had to cook them in the oven for about 35 min rather than the suggested 8-10 min, and mine were more like biscuits than dinner rolls. I think I was expecting the outside would be softer, more like a dinner roll usually is. They were very good biscuits though! And soft and spongy in the center :). If you have any more advice on how to get them as nice looking as yours look, and how to get them brown on top as your picture shows, please tell! Thank you for the recipe!

I wanted to make a comment regarding other people having their rolls come out dense. I have seen on other websites that each flour and starch has a different weight and that they should be measured out accordingly. So should we be following your exact measurements or measure out the flours and atarches according to their comparable weight?

My daughter who has celiac absolutely loves these rolls!!!!!!! I made them for Thanksgiving and they turned out great. I love them too!!!! Thank you!! We have been looking for anything gluten free bread related that didn’t taste like dirt. These are delicious light and fluffy just like you said and we used just a hand mixer. We have made them a few times since and will be making them a lot in the future. Thanks again!!!

I am so glad that you enjoy them! And thanks for letting me know that they worked with a hand mixer. I love to help others make gluten free easy and delicious, so thank you for letting me know that you really liked them!